The present invention addresses in general the problem of stacking articles advancing on a conveyor line and has been developed with particular attention to its possible use for the stacking of articles constituted by food products, for example, confectionery products such as biscuits, chocolate bars, etc.
This problem has been addressed in various ways, both with reference to substantially xe2x80x9cstaticxe2x80x9d stacking (in which the moving articles are collected in a stack but their advancing movement is stopped; see, for example, the solution of U.S. Pat. No. 4,755,093) and with reference to a dynamic situation (in which the articles are stacked but their advancing condition is substantially maintained; see, again by way of example, the solution described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,341,913).
The present invention fits substantially into this second category and has the object basically of providing a solution which is structurally simpler than that described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,341,913, without detracting from the efficiency, speed and safety of operation of the device.
According to the present invention, this object is achieved by means of a method and a device having the specific characteristics recited in the following claims.